Writing in the Top 300 magazine, Iceland chief executive Malcolm Walker says the business will next year move into the home shopping market.

Mr Walker said: “Now nearly all our customers are online and we know that the time is definitely right to bring home shopping back to them.

“So we are going to re-launch next year, as well as opening more than 30 new shops in the UK.”

In a competitive marketplace Mr Walker said it was vital to keep innovating and trying new ideas.

He said: “If you try 100 new things and only two of them work it’s still a good result – and far better than sitting back and hoping that your business will eventually rise with the economic tide.

“The important thing is never to stand still and never to be complacent.”

In March Mr Walker and his management team bought back the business for its Icelandic banking owners for more than £1.5bn.

He said: “In the final round of bidding, we were competing with private equity players who just wanted to strip a lot of cash out of the business and sell it on for quick profit.

“We wanted it for the long term, because I am sure that for Iceland, as it says in our current TV ads, the best is yet to come

This year’s Top 300 firms have a combined turnover of £27.1bn - up on last year’s £24.7bn.

Collectively the firms employ 123,509 – although this also includes staff in other parts of the UK and in some cases – like Cardiff-headquartered motor insurance group Admiral.

Following its promotion to the Premier League Swansea City AFC is now the biggest sporting business in Wales – and makes the Top 300 for the first time.

The business is ranked 91st in this year’s league table.

It is bigger than the Welsh Rugby Union both on turnover and pre-tax profit – although the WRU in its last financial year posted its highest ever revenue figure and is ranked 95th, up eight places on its position in 2011.

This year the publication is sponsored by business advisory firm Grant Thornton, with the data collated by the Business School at the University of Glamorgan.

Tax partner at the Cardiff office of Grant Thornton Louise Evans said: “We Grant Thornton are once again delighted to be sponsoring the Western Mail’s annual publication featuring the best performing businesses in Wales, and congratulate each and every one of them on their exceptional achievements.

“The mid-sized business sector, which typically employs 50-499 people, accounts for a large proportion of the content of the Top 300 and Grant Thornton research, shows this sector is consistently beating the market to find growth.

“These businesses have managed to thrive throughout the downturn.

“They have seen no significant decline and in the last year have reported significantly faster turnover growth of 4.1% compared with the 3.2% UK average.

“In fact, we would contend that there are very real opportunities for growth and success out there at the moment, and for the next 12 months.”

Some 53 companies in this year’s listing reported losses (down from 57 in last year’s report).

The “big hitters” (the top 10 companies in the listing) contributed 37% of the cumulative turnover (35% last year) and around 57% (58% last year) of the profits generated by the whole Top 300.

The Director of the Centre for Enterprise at the University of Glamorgan Business School, Professor David Pickernell, said: “A wide range of businesses have replaced the 42 companies that have dropped out of this year’s listing.

“The diversity of the activity in the Top 300 also remains impressive, though automotive, general manufacturing, retail, finance and engineering/ construction remain the dominant sectors, accounting for nearly 60% of Top 300 turnover and over half of employment.

“The healthcare sector, last year seen identified as an emerging one in Wales and a significant employer in the economy, did however, see a fall in turnover (as a percentage of the total) though not employment.”

More traditional sectors such as metal manufacture and mining / utilities continue to account for significant proportions (around 14%) of the Top 300’s total turnover but less than 5% of employment. The retail sector also employs over 20% of the total number of employees in the Top 300 list, though this is a reduction on the previous year.

In terms of geographic spread of companies in the Top 300, tSouth Wales increasingly dominates with 68% of all turnover (up from 58% last year).

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